How Can I Help My 11 Year Old Daughter Make Friends?

Help your daughter find friends.

Friends are important for teens and tweens. An eleven-year-old values her friends over her family, and the need for friendship is high at this age. Friends provide an alternative to family and help children explore themselves as well as their world. Children without friends at eleven years of age become lonely, withdrawn and sometimes depressed. Helping your eleven-year-old daughter find friends means exploring your daughter's hobbies and attempting to find others who share her interests.

Things You'll Need

• School activities
• Community clubs

Instructions

1. Talk to your eleven-year-old and discover her favorite activities. Ask her where she would enjoy practicing her hobbies, whether in school or in the community. Encourage her to join clubs at school where she will meet students with common interests.

2. Call the school and find out what types of extracurricular activities are available. Since many eleven-year-olds are beginning to pull away from families in favor of friends, make the call confidential. Ask when the sign-ups happen and if the club will accept new students in the middle of the school year. After school, suggest some of the activities to your daughter and ask her if she will sign up for any of the clubs.

3. Search for activities within the community if your daughter is not interested in signing up in school or if the school does not offer activities which interest her. Some schools do not offer certain types of art, swimming or gymnastics classes, or other extracurricular interests. Your daughter will find friends from other schools through community-based activities in her area of interest.

References

• Family Works: Friendship is Important to Teens